Smith Out For Two

Carolina Panther's star wide receiver Steve Smith has been suspended for the first two games of the 2009 season following an altercation with cornerback Ken Lucas at training camp on Friday. While the starters were resting following a series of drills at Friday's practice Smith struck Lucas in the face leaving him with a broken nose and a black eye. The two have always had a little rivalry in practice, according to coach John Fox, but it had never been more than a little taunt here and there until now. The incident will cost Smith roughly $200,000.

It is not uncommon for little skirmishes to break out during training camp. In fact, last week at Dolphins' camp first round draft pick Jake Long and second round pick Phillip Merling got in a pushing and shoving match following a few intense one on one drills. Things like this happen. Some coaches actually like to see a little fire out of their players at camp, but what Smith did went too far. A little pushing and shoving is one thing but sucker punching a guy is another story. The sad thing is that it will cost the team as much as it will cost Smith, as they will now be with out their top offensive threat for the first two games of the season.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

The USA Today has released its College Football pre-season top 25. Leading the list is Georgia, lead by the QB/RB tandem of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Moreno looks to be an early favorite for the Hesiman Trophy. Behind Georgia is perennial powerhouse USC, whose week 2 match-up versus pre-season #3 Ohio State could be a potential game of the year. The big 12 is represented with Oklahoma as the #4 team in the land, who is lead by sophomore QB Sam Bradford, who threw for 36 touchdowns last year. Rounding out the top 5 are the Tim Tebow-lead Florida Gators. Tebow, who was the Heisman last year, is trying to join Archie Griffin as the only two-time winner of the award.

The rest of the top 25:
6. LSU
7. Missouri
8. West Virgina
9. Clemson
10. Texas
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. Texas Tech
15. Virgina Tech
16. Arizona State
17. BYU
18. Tennessee
19. Illinois
20. Oregon
21. South Florida
22. Penn State
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan
25. Fresno State

I look for Texas Tech to turn some heads this year with QB Graham Harrell and his top WR Michael Crabtree being a tandem that will create havoc for CB's all year long. Fresno State and BYU look to be this years Hawaii, while Kansas and South Florida try to prove they weren't a one year wonder. Clemson will battle with Virgina Tech for the ACC crown, though the Tigers have a knack for blowing big games. Did your team not crack the top 25? Don't worry about it, it's just the pre-season. Think your team got snubbed? Lets hear about it! waybackemail@gmail.com

Packers-Farve "Lets make a deal"

The Green Bay Packers might have just made Brett Farve an offer too good to pass up. The Packers have reportedly offered Farve $20 million to retire as a Packer and stay that way. Should Farve agree to the deal it would put an end to the two month long saga that has been going on between the two sides.

In an interview with ESPN yesterday Farve had the following comment regarding the offer.

"There isn't a perfect solution to this, but Mark Murphy is at least trying. We know what they want and where I stand. His solution, although awkward and unsettling for most, may be the best in the end."

Getting $20 million to never have to take a hit again sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Then again, I'm not Brett Farve. I suppose you can't put a price on competitive drive, but the Packers sure have tried. Bret has made it clear that he wants to play again, but the Packers don't want him back and he is not going to make a team an instant Superbowl contender via trade. His chances of winning another Superbowl, whether it be with Green Bay or elsewhere, are slim. He might as just take the money and hang them up. No sense risking injury to, at best, finish in the same position he did after last season.

A Night of Standing Ovations

Last night marked the first night with their respected new ball clubs for several big names in MLB.

Jason Bay's 13th inning triple set himself up to score the game winning run on Jed Lowire's infield single. Bay, who got standing ovations several times throughout the game, finished 1 for 3 on the night and scored both runs in the Red Sox 2-1 victory.

Elsewhere in the American League, newly acquired White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI to lead first place Chicago to a 4-2 victory. Griffey nearly added more to his total as he just missed a home run in the fourth inning.

In the National League, Manny Ramirez made his debut as a member of the LA Dodgers. Manny had a pair of singles in the game, finishing 2 for 4, but it was not enough as the Dodgers fell 2-1 to the Diamondbacks.